Michael Binyon, chief foreign leader-writer and former Diplomatic Editor for The Times newspaper, addressed the Diplomatic Press Attachés Association in London (DPAAL) on “What makes a good Press Attaché”. The event was hosted by the Serbian Embassy in London, where Binyon debated media approach techniques: responding to the press, pitching a story, use of best practices and networking, among other topics.
A good press attaché should like working with the media and, regardless of where he is, needs to understand how people think and why they react the way they do, underlined Binyon in his introductory remarks. Above all, a press attaché needs to have a positive attitude vis-à-vis the country he is assigned to.
“The press is not something you can control, but occasionally it can be something very helpful”. It is important to know how the press works, not only in one’s own country but, in particular, in the one where he/she serves. Most journalists do not see it as part of their job to foster good relations, but they are always looking for a good story, said Binyon.
So, the first thing a good press attaché has to understand is what the media is interested in and how it works. It is interested in what is news and what is topical news. Quite often there is a certain amount of interest in some feature, some background stories, something that has got historical interest. You need to think what a particular newspaper is interested in and what subjects are of importance to it.
Another important issue is the speed of communication. A response to a media request should be fast, otherwise the journalists will tend to look for any other source that can add something new to whatever is happening. Most newspapers do not rely on embassies for news. By definition, embassies are not in the country where the news is taking place, so newspapers get the information from their correspondents. But embassies are very useful institutions for arranging meetings and events between top statesmen. Organizing background briefings with media correspondents before a visit of a statesman is always thoughtful and clever, as the journalists will have a chance to discuss the issues that are going to be talked about. You should not engage in propaganda; you simply lay out the facts. If you give a really useful factual background, a lot of these points will be reflected in the report, maybe published the next day.
You need not only to understand how the press works, but to understand what is going on and what is the calendar of events that might be of interest to the press; e.g. if a summit or a big event is happening in your country, that’s the time to contact journalists. The question is: who should be contacted? If you can’t find a diplomatic correspondent, you need to find those people who write the editorials because they also need to keep a close watch on what is happening overseas. Also, try to make some personal acquaintance with them to see they are reliable/confident or dangerous/unreliable. As for diplomats, the problem lies in the fact that they are afraid to say many things, so tend to say nothing. But if you say nothing, the journalist will think you are a waste of time. So a press attaché needs to work out gradually and gently which people they should talk to and which are reliable. The more you tell journalists (even if background information), the more likely it is they will write something helpful.
Journalists usually tend to contact you when there is a negative story. Explain what is going on in your country and what your embassy’s concern is. The more you answer and the more honest you are, the more likely it is that your point of view will be reflected. If you simply say “no comment” or “we have nothing to say”, then you will get a very negative picture coming out in the report.
Quite often journalists need a comment from the embassy. As the ambassadors are usually busy, you need to persuade your ambassador to give a comment straight away. It’s always better coming from the ambassador because he/she speaks with the authority of their country.
Nowadays, print media are far less important than television. That’s where the mass market is and that’s why it is important to teach the ambassador to be good on television. Work out how to say something quickly, smartly, swiftly and to the point. And be prepared for hostile questioning. Don’t let the questioner make the ambassador angry. You need to train the ambassador to be ready for that sort of questioning and to decide in advance how much he/she is going to say. For the written press, you also need to respond fast, within the hour; otherwise the journalist will get the news from elsewhere. Especially if it is a question of your country vs. some other country and you want your point of view to be well represented.
In general, a press attaché should avoid saying something that is not true because that always goes wrong. You don’t have to say everything, but never say something that is not true, because the journalist will never forgive you. Try to understand how people in the press work, particularly in television. They need pictures; they need something that looks good. Give them as much information, especially as much background as possible and think of the opportunities for things that are not immediate news. Think of ways to persuade journalists to visit your country. But it has to be for a newsworthy event, otherwise they won’t come.
If a story doesn’t work the first time, try again or with a slightly different variation. A press attaché needs to be creative and inventive when responding to the needs of newspapers. On the whole, press attachés will not be the ones making the news. They will be helping some kind of coverage in their country – with their ambassador speaking on a particular subject – but their own words are not usually printed the next day in the papers. The ambassador’s words possibly will be, but only if the subject really concerns the embassy. If it simply concerns the country, it is much more likely that the news will come from their own capital.
Michael Binyon’s bio
You may listen to the whole presentation here
You may listen to the Q & As here
This paper looks into the communication factor in Greek foreign policy. It aims at identifying communication patterns and models used to convey Greek foreign policy positions abroad. It examines critically the efficacy of the applied practice and argues that the communication factor has been disregarded by foreign policy – makers, making successful promotion of Greek foreign policy problematic and hurting the image of the country internationally. The paper suggests that Greece should invest in public diplomacy, especially relationship building, in order to communicate its foreign policy more effectively. 
